Apple has a die-hard fan following, nobody can deny that, but is that the very reason Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is getting sloppy? It has been far from accommodating when it comes to user complaints and objections. But still the stock remains unaffected, give or take a few minor ups and down.
Let’s have a look at a few things that just didn’t go Apple’s way;
What went Apple’s way was the fact that there were 4 Million pre-orders of the iPhone 6 and Plus online, with 10 Million being sold on the first weekend, which was exactly three days after the launch. However, the pre-order number could have been well above the 4 Million lucky users who actually got to pre-order one week before launch date. The reason it didn’t go over the 4 million mark was that the Apple site crashed due to overload and people had to put in a good many hours to access the proper functioning site.
It makes one wonder how could Apple deliver its marketing message to so many people clamoring to get their hands on the iPhone when their launch video wasn’t even good. The quality was extremely poor, voice non-existent with a Chinese voice over version available online which strikes you as ironic because the iPhone isn’t available in China except for the Black Market. Apple cheerleaders who are used to great quality end to end from Apple ended up mocking the giant on YouTube.
That wasn’t the only time Apple was mocked for sub-standard offerings. The Celebgate iCloud hack which had put Apple Inc. in great jeopardy is resurfacing again when a security researcher is claiming that he reported the iBrute bug to Apple engineers as early as March. Denying responsibility was ofcourse what Apple did alleging that this was a targeted attack requiring years of social engineering. However, after such a lax security which lets you try out different combinations of passwords x number of times makes users apprehensive about the iCloud security.
The iWatch which has options of being available in Gold is targeting high earners, but after the iCloud hack I wonder how many celebrities will be sporting it around their fashionable wrists! Talking about celebrities, Apple gave away U2’s album songs of innocence for free and it automatically downloaded on the new iPhone without asking for any prompt. This has made some users very unhappy which made Apple come up with a fix that lets you delete the album from your iPhone.
The iOS 8 fiasco was another miss, which after much waiting turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment. Its glitches and device compatibility issues left the users disappointed. Apple has promised to fix the latest operating system, but one can’t help but ask why was the operating system so flawed to begin with?
Apple finally figured out that size does matter with the iPhone selling out everywhere showing excessive pent up demand for larger screens. But does it mean Apple is no longer the trend setter? Does it mean it follows what the market declares successful? Another interesting question surfaces is regarding the company’s business and marketing strategy; marketing may still be strong mainly because of the brand name itself, but what about business strategy? Has the company become too arrogant and has it started taking its customers for granted?
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) needs to acknowledge not only its customer’s need, but also the potential its rivals have in terms of quality and class. These mishits may not hurt Apple, yet, but it will surely do some serious PR damage, which could lead to some serious issues in the future.